A Bishop Left on f7

The game, move by move

The Ponziani

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight out
4. 2… Nc6 And Black’s
5. 3. c3 The Ponziani c3 and a plan to build a centre with d4. It is older than almost everything else in this file and it is out of fashion by 1889.
6. 3… d5 d5, in the middle
7. 4. Qa4 The queen to a4 Pinning the knight on c6 against nothing and eyeing e4 through the pawn.
8. 4… f6 f6, propping up e5 It holds the pawn and it puts a hole on e6 and one on g6, which is where the pieces end up.
9. 5. Bb5 The bishop to b5
10. 5… Ne7 The knight to e7
11. 6. exd5 Taken
12. 6… Qxd5 Recaptured with the queen

A closed centre

1. 7. O-O White castles
2. 7… Bd7 Developing
3. 8. d4 The centre at last
4. 8… e4 e4, past the knight It gains a square and shuts the position, which suits the side that has not castled — except that the side that has not castled is Black.
5. 9. Nfd2 The knight steps back
6. 9… Ng6 The knight to g6
7. 10. Bc4 The bishop swings to c4 Onto the diagonal that ends at f7, with a knight on d2 heading for c4 behind it.
8. 10… Qa5 The queen to a5
9. 11. Qb3 The queen to b3 Behind the bishop. Two pieces on the a2–g8 diagonal, and the black king is still on e8.
10. 11… f5 f5, shutting the centre It stops nothing that matters and takes the last flight square from the king.

The bishop on f7

1. 12. Bf7+ The bishop, on f7 Check, and the king cannot take: after Kxf7 the knight comes to d6 with a discovered check from the queen. So the bishop simply stands there.
2. 12… Ke7 The king steps to e7
3. 13. Nc4 The knight to c4 One square from d6, and the bishop is still sitting on f7 where nothing can take it.
4. 13… Qa6 The queen goes further away
5. 14. Bg5+ Check, from g5 Now the king has to take the bishop — e6 and f6 are covered, e8 is covered by the knight’s arrival, and there is nothing to interpose.
6. 14… Kxf7 Taken, at last
7. 15. Nd6# Checkmate, with two checks The knight lands on d6 and the queen on b3 checks down the diagonal it has just left. The knight covers e8, the bishop on g5 covers e7 and f6, the queen covers g8 and e6 — and g7, f8 and g6 are Black’s own men.